Tempus Viator
by TheShock
Summary: "No matter how much you deny it, you wish to save everyone somehow." Chara wanted nothing else than destruction, until someone decides that this wasn't the right path for them.
1. Prologue: Strange Changes

**A kind author requested this idea from me.**  
 **I hope they will not find it too sloppy...**

Some guidelines for this particular story:

"Hi, this is Chara" - normal dialogue for Chara and the other monsters.

 **"Hello there, this is Gaster"** \- Gaster's speech in some instances.

* **This surely is interesting...** \- Gaster's narration in some instances.

 _ **"...you'll never remember"**_ \- marks flashbacks.

 _"This is my mind."_ \- Internal thoughts.

 **Prologue**  
 **Strange Changes**

 _"..._ _ **you'll never remember anything.**_ _"_

That was all Chara could hear, before being impaled by three bones erupting from the Judgement Hall's shining marble floor. Sans watched with satisfaction as the child's SOUL broke in two, and their lifeless body dropping with a loud thud on the crater left behind by the skeleton's final attack. He smiled, exhausted after the long battle, and decided to give a call to Asgore, let him know that the genocidal maniac has been stopped, until-

The Hall was starting to fade from existence, as if a RESET has been pulled up by the child, yet Sans didn't understand what was going on and kept watching as darkness slowly engulfed everything. His left eye flared cyan, steady as he was whenever a RESET was called forth, yet one thing plagued the somewhat lazy skeleton - if they knew that defeat was all that waited for them in here, - why bother resetting?

Yet this particular RESET wasn't like the others.

The darkness suddenly started glitching, and Sans could notice a few rays of light piercing through the darkness, until he was engulfed and disappeared.

After the strange event that made Sans disappear in a flick of light, a strange human form could be seen crouching over the lifeless body of Chara's. The mysterious man placed a hand over it, a faint light basking the body and restoring the SOUL that was once broken, the child opening his eyes wide. They put up their hands in defense as the man's face was smiling at them in a strange, almost terrifying way.

"Who..." Chara spoke with a small voice, "Who are you? And why did you save me?"

 **"My name doesn't matter right now."** the man said, as his smile vanished. **"What matters is that we work together to save this timeline."**

"What? Are you insane for some reason?" the striped-shirt human furrowed their brows in anger, as they dusted their clothes. "Do you even know what I've-?"

 **"Yes. You are willing to commit Genocide."** Gaster said. **"But you must learn to be a Pacifist, or otherwise..."** the tall scientist sighed, **"Dimensions will be shattered in an endless cycle."**

"Give me a good reason why should I care." Chara huffed in annoyance, while the scientist looked at them with hollow eyes.

 **"Because you have a hint of good inside you,"** Gaster said. **"No matter how much you deny it, you wish to save everyone somehow."**

Chara closed their eyes, not willing to believe what the mysterious man just told them, yet he was right on one thing - they wanted to save everyone - but their hatred was too much to bear, that it took control and forced them to commit genocide, over and over. _"This guy isn't kidding at all when he says I want to do something right,"_ the child mentally sighed, _"but he's wrong if he thinks I'm going to be selfless."_

 **"That expression..."** the scientist said as he turned his head towards the child, **"You believe that you can't ever be a selfless person, is it not? We'll see."**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chara raised an eyebrow in questioning, their arms folded.

 **"I shall impart my essence with you. I'll be guiding your every step..."** Gaster said as he placed his hands over the child's shoulders. **"...And I'll make sure you don't fall back into committing genocide again."**

"Again, why do you care about thi-" Chara said, before Gaster silenced them.

 **"Because you are a lost soul, just like myself."** the scientist said. **"I want to free myself from this endless abyss that is the Void. And only the Pacifist Route can help me achieve this."**

"Fine," Chara nodded as they dropped their stance. "I'll let you guide my way, though don't pull any tricks on me."

 **"The timeline will decide if it will pull tricks on you or not."** Gaster said. **"Now...let's commence the transfer."**

Black tendrils were engulfing Chara for a moment, the latter standing still during the whole process, wondering what could happen worse than that. A part of Gaster's essence attached itself to Chara's soul, in the form of a purple patch, and then the scientist's tendrils released their grip on the small child.

 **"Very well. Now we wait for the timeline to adjust to these changes..."** the stranger's voice resounded in Chara's mind, **"...And we'll see where we end up."**


	2. Chapter 1: Start of a Second Chance

**Just in case you forgot the guidelines.**

"Hi, this is Chara" - normal dialogue for Chara and the other monsters.

 **"Hello there, this is Gaster"** \- Gaster's speech in some instances.

* **This surely is interesting...** \- Gaster's narration in some instances.

 ** _"...you'll never remember"_** \- marks flashbacks.

 _"This is my mind."_ \- Internal thoughts.

/companion/ - marks emphasize of a certain word in speech.

 **Enjoy!**

 **Start of a Second Chance**

Chara couldn't see anything apart from light - and even that was enough to make them hiss, as they covered their eyes - and felt like they were floating, until the mysterious man clarified that they were merely standing by. **"It takes time for a new - well, timeline - to adjust itself to new parameters. You'll feel as if gently squeezed through time and space when it will be done."**

"So, likely to be a little tortured-" the child could say before feeling pulled somewhere, and Gaster warned them to be calm during the whole process.

 _ **"Somehow, they remembered what it was like when they first fell down. Quick and with minor injuries, despite their thought..."**_

The child landed face down in golden flowers, and took a few moments to regain their composure. Through determination alone, they rose to their feet and dusted their clothes, only to be greeted by a familiar sight - the first cave of the Underground - though it felt slightly different than they remembered. Water was dripping from stalagmites above, each drip echoing through the silence as if voices were calling out to Chara, while noticing that light was barely enough to help them see anything.

 **"Intriguing, I never knew that you fell down like this. Though I suspect your reasons were darker than escaping humanity's clutches."**

"Hey, let me remind you one thing - I have no idea who the hell you are," the child huffed, "and since you're going to be my /companion/, I think a name is in order."

 **"Companion is a rather misplaced word. I'd use colleague. Or sidekick."** Gaster commented.

"Don't even think on saying friend. Because I'm going to-" Chara snapped.

 **"No. Not that far. Anyway, you can call me Wing for the remainder of our journey."**

Chara looked around the cave, as if waiting for someone to appear, waiting to hear a voice, but when nothing like that happened, they huffed and lightly tapped their right foot in irritation. All this while mumbling under their breath, "Where are you, Azzy?" and looking for something in the shadows.

 **"What happened, Chara?"** Gaster asked, **"Something not according to plan?"**

 _ **"He was here when I fell...Standing by my side..."**_

"N-nothing that concerns you." the child replied, sadness ringing from their voice.

 **"Ah, your perception of this particular cave was different,"** the scientist mused, **"though you must remember. This timeline is unlike the first, and changes are bound to be seen. Dimensions are still hanging by a thread."**

"Can you cut the sci-fi explanations, Wing? I have to search for a way out of here."

Chara noticed there was a path leading somewhere, and decided to follow it, even though it was barely lit and they could wander only by touching the somewhat sharp and humid walls that seemed to enclose the path ahead. Although, they felt it was quite short in contrast to the initial perspective, and the rocky walls eventually turned to stone pillars that were seemingly chipped. _"What the-"_

 ***The way ahead is closed by a stone door.**  
 ***Something is visible above the opening, give it a look.**

"You really like to narrate things, don't you, Wing? Anyway, what's up there?"

 _ **"The symbol of our kingdom...what do they teach you kids in school nowadays?"**_

 **"I trust you'll figure it out eventually, Chara. Why don't we go ahead?"**

The child pushed the large stone doors with difficulty, sweat beading on their forehead from the effort, only to be greeted by another large cave - but this one was even more different than what Chara saw once. The exception was that a patch of grass was growing, and light dawned upon it, without any visible hole to be seen - a patch of grass that allowed a single flower to exist.

 ***The oddity of this flower surprises you greatly.**  
 ***You have never seen this before.**

"Ugh, Wing. Can you just stop narrating for a mo-" Chara said, before being interrupted by a reedy voice.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower!" the flower began to speak as it made a funny face.

 **"I've never seen such a thing before. The only talking flower I'm aware of-"**

"Shut it, Wing. I'm as puzzled as you are." Chara scoffed.

"Uh..." Flowey said, "Who're you talking to?"

"Nobody." the child folded their arms. "I'm Chara, by the way."

"O...kay, I guess? Anyway, you must be new to the Underground."

 _"Not really, but I'm curious what you're going to do."_ Chara thought as their eyes were following the flower's face.

"Allow me to teach you how things work around here." the flower said as it called forth Chara's SOUL, only to widen his eyes at the curiosity of its appearance. "What the heck? What kind of human are you..."

The red soul had a small patch of purple essence, which intrigued Flowey as he continued to explain what the various acronyms meant, LV stood for LOVE, EXP stood for EXperience Pellets, HP stood for Human Power, and that SAVE meant Standing As Valiant Ever - though Chara didn't fall for the first two explanations, as they already knew what LV and EXP /truly/ stood for. Though the later two could be as deceiving as the first, and decided not to trust him at all.

 ***There's still something curious about the flower...**  
 ***You refuse to listen to his further explanations.**

"Please, stop narrating for a sec, Wing! I mean, seriously?"

"Again, you kind of freak me out, Chara." Flowey deadpanned. "Anyway, let's get to battling stuff. In here, monsters will share LOVE through..." the flower no sooner cracked an innocent smile, "...friendliness pellets. Be sure to get them all!"

 **"I will make my own theories about the later two, and /please/ don't get yourself killed."** Gaster intervened in the middle of Flowey's explanation.

Somehow, despite the distraction, Chara was able to dodge the first set of pellets, making Flowey hiss with rage. "Damn it, stay still and /die/!" the flower growled at the child with a scary voice, yet - perhaps it was Gaster's influence - they didn't flinch at all, and kept dodging the white projectiles that were honing for them, until...

Something that they didn't fully expect happened.

"don't worry, little child, i got your back." a motherly, yet somewhat casual voice called out to Chara. "hey weed, find another spot under the sunshine." the voice said as she - it was definitely a she - summoned a fireball that effectively scared the flower away, grumbling in defeat.

 _"Wait, what the-"_ Chara's mind stopped for a moment as they were looking at the small goat monster that just saved them. She was wearing a pink sweaterdress covered by a comfy purple jacket, and smiled casually at the human. _"Is this one of the changes you-?"_

 **"I must admit, I didn't expect the timeline to fully confuse us like that,"** Gaster noted. **"Though I suppose..."** the scientist paused for a moment, "... **there won't be such a thing as a /singular/ change."**

 _"Great...Not only the timeline is completely screwed up, apparently, I also have to keep up with doing a Pacifist Route."_ Chara mentally sighed.

"lil' child, you okay there?" the goat monster looked at them with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm good. Who're you?" the child asked. "I've never seen you before, but yet you feel familiar to me."

"hm~ where are my manners," the female goat extended one of her paws, waiting for Chara to squeeze it.

 _ **"i'm toriel, sentry of the ruins."**_


	3. Chapter 2: Memories and Theories

**Chapter 2: Memories and Theories**

 _"Uh...She isn't supposed to say that."_ Chara thought as they were about to inquire further on Toriel's true aspect and nature, until they figured Wing shouldn't know just yet the real bond that Chara once shared with the monster. _"D-don't even try to ask why or how I know it."_

 **"Judging by your reaction, you have some history with this monster,"** the scientist easily perceived, despite Chara's attempt at subterfuge, **"And yet, she gives off a familiar air to me, too."**

 _"What do you mean by that?"_ Chara shook their head as they looked back at the goat monster that casually licked a bit of whipped cream off her muzzle.

 **"I do not know just yet. Let us see what she can help us with."** the scientist said, before letting Chara carry on with their journey.

"lil' child? are you in here with me?" Toriel asked as she placed a paw over Chara's left shoulder.

"Sorry, I space out sometimes. I'm Chara, by the way, nice to meet you." the child briefly smiled. "So, you're the sentry, huh?"

"uh-huh," the small goat monster smiled as well, "i come by to check if anyone has fallen down in here. you're the first human i've seen in a long time. want to crash at my place for a while?"

"Sure, Toriel." Chara nodded.

As the two, human and monster, were walking down the large, well-kept corridors of the Ruins, Chara couldn't help noticing that the walls didn't show any sign of decay - which was curious, as the Ruins were supposed to be almost deserted - yet when they walked past a lot of Froggits, Whimsuns, Moldsmals, it was starting to get obvious that someone decided this place should be filled with monsters.  
For some odd reason, Chara couldn't stop some memories from flooding back in their mind, memories of their sins and crimes. How they killed all the innocent monsters living in here, their LOVE increasing with each life taken...And now that Wing wanted to see them redeemed, they started to wonder why /did/ they even do everything. Their hatred on humanity expanded on those poor monsters...but was it worth it?

 _ **"...Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you there. Not you...but them!"**_

Those bitter words of their mother rang in their head as they were walking behind the small Toriel, and despite the fact they were true, they knew that she never stopped loving them. Chara's eyes were affixed on the small monster ahead, and allowed the tears that were threatening to spill to slowly trail down their face, muttering under their breath a question that they never really got an answer to.

"Toriel..." Chara sighed for a moment, "How could you be so accepting of me, even after all I did? I-If you'd remember all the times I did Genocide, w-would you...forgive me?"

"did you say something, lil' chara?" Toriel turned for a moment towards the child, who was wiping their tears with one of their sweater's sleeves. "why are you crying, little one?"

"I-it's nothing." Chara lied through their teeth, "I am just missing my family."

The small goat monster took the lie in stride, while smiling at the child and telling them not to worry as they would be out of the ruins soon, while suggesting they could rest for a while at her house. Chara slowly agreed, and noticed that Toriel took their hand in her paw, gently squeezing it, trying to reassure them that they would be safe and cared for under her guidance.

 _"It's...it's like before. She..."_ Chara's eyes were filling with tears again, as if the sins were back to crawl on their spine, to make them regret everything they did. _"It's like Wing said...she reminds me of someone else, too."_

 _ **"**_ _ **you can't understand how this feels...**_ _ **knowing that one day, without any warning... it's all going to be reset.**_ _ **"**_

" **Chara?** " Gaster called out, **"Do you hear me?"**

"Yeah, I can hear /you/ loud and clear!" Chara snapped for a moment, making Toriel turn to them with a questioning look on her face. "Sorry, it's my imaginary friend. He tends to come out whenever I'm quiet for too long."

"...i see." the goat monster replied after a momentary pause, wondering if the child's sanity was affected by the fall they must've gone through. "we're getting closer to my house."

 _"Looks like I'm going to be talking through my thoughts, cause I can't really speak with you out loud. They'll wonder if I'm sane or not."_ Chara mused, while noticing they were approaching a small, purple house in the distance.

 **"If she's the first change of the timeline...I wonder what other changes have happened. Your memory...I recall that voice. That's the voice of my son, Sans."** Gaster said, a hint of sadness in his voice. **"He /did/ grow up to be a caring monster, after all..."**

 _"Did you know he stopped me? He stood in front of me with everything he had...She reminds me of him, strange as that sounds."_ Chara kept thinking as they suddenly came to a halt.

Toriel and Chara were standing in front of a small, purple house, which looked very welcoming on the outside as the walls weren't decayed at all, ivy vines hanging just above the doorframe, and under the plants, an inscription could be seen. The small goat monster left the child to their thoughts as she walked in, making herself comfortable, while Chara looked around, and noticed that the tree in front of the house was actually healthy, beautiful orange-looking leaves adorning the branches.

They decided to stay under it for a moment, and heard a loud rumbling coming from their stomach. _"Damn, I haven't eaten anything in a long while,"_ the child thought as they were scouring through their pockets for a remaining chocolate bar or anything edible, until they discovered a small wooden button. They picked it up and held it in their palms, noticing it had the Delta Rune carved in, and on the margin, two initials, A and C, a memento of times gone by.

 _ **"I was in the gardens, while Asriel was working on something. He wouldn't tell me what, but I was curious, and we were play-fighting in the golden flowers, until I noticed the small button. He really loved carving Delta Runes, he said that the symbol meant to him more than the Kingdom's banner. It was a symbol of hope, and freedom. He also carved in our initials...He truly cared for me, like Mom and Dad did."**_

"Asriel..." Chara called out under their breath for a moment, before picking themselves up and taking some time to look at the inscription above the house. They couldn't fully read the monsters' runes, yet the few letters they could discern were enough to give out what was written:

 **nev... aba...d..n ...yo... ho...e**  
 **...f yo... do ...o, yo... ? ...e ?**

 _"Never abandon your hope... but I can't discern the second line-"_

 **"If you do so, you will be lost,"** Gaster completed the second line, **"You could've asked me to read it for you."**

 _"Yeah, but I don't want to be completely helpless."_ Chara thought as a light scoff escaped their lips.

 ***The sight of the inscription brought back some hope in your SOUL.**  
 *** Your file is saved.**

 _"Thanks, Wing."_ the child smiled before crossing the threshold, and instantly caught up the familiar scent of butterscotch and cinnamon pie. For some reason, they were happy that at least /this/ didn't change at all, because no matter how much Chara enjoyed chocolate, Toriel's pie was the second favorite food they loved to eat. Walking towards the living room, they noticed that the small Toriel was lazily sleeping on the reading chair, next to the fireplace and hurried towards the kitchen to take a slice of pie.

 _"I'll keep this for later,"_ they thought before getting back in the living room and watched Toriel soundly asleep, _"I kinda miss Mom's hugs, sleeping on her bosom, listening to her heartbeat..."_

 **"You do seem to be a caring human,"** Gaster couldn't help noticing. **"Though, you cannot go further for the moment. You need some rest..."**

...

After a well-deserved sleep, the child woke up with a loud yawn, and gently rubbed their eyes to see that they were in a large bed. They weren't sure where they were, until the memory of their journey with Toriel came back to them, and started talking to Gaster, who was busy thinking over the next changes that the timeline could bring.

 _"Ngh...how long have I been sleeping, Wing?"_ Chara asked him, as they were standing at the edge of the bed.

 **"I'd say two hours. You were pretty tired, and judging by your state right now, you are significantly better,"** Gaster replied. **"I hope Lady Toriel will help us get out of the Ruins, as there's still much to see and do."**

Chara walked down the hallway, and noticed Toriel was now reading her usual book, "72 Uses for Snails", though there was one difference - she didn't have any reading glasses - but the goat monster instantly rose her head from the book when Chara entered the living room and briefly smiled before closing the book and placing it back in the shelf.

"so, did you sleep well, little child?" she inquired, looking at the now-better rested human. "anyway, since you have a family...i'll show you the way out of the ruins."

"That's great, Tori-Mom." Chara blurted out, and realizing what they did, they immediately blushed in embarrassment.

"eh? do i really strike you as a motherly figure?" Toriel laughed a little, "well, you can call me mom tori, if you really want to."

"S-sorry, I don't know what got over me," the child kept blushing as their usual pink cheeks were now a strong red. "I have a family to get to, and maybe you'll have a family of your own."

The two walked in silence through the oddly-familiar basement, until they reached the large stone door with a Delta Rune etched in it and stopped for a moment, the air getting heavier as the moment of departure was closer than both cared to admit. Toriel grew somewhat attached to the small human child before her, and couldn't help notice that it was pretty much the same for Chara - but they wouldn't fully admit it because they didn't want to go through that pain again - the pain of losing Toriel.

Neither were willing to break through the silence that was kept growing, until the small goat monster sighed as she placed a paw over the child's chest, feeling their heartbeat going at a faster pace than before - she could hear heartbeats, but she wouldn't tell that to anyone - and smiled as she began speaking.

"i want to give you a warning. once you're out on these doors, i won't be able to protect you," Toriel's red eyes were gazing at Chara's own red eyes, and the child nodded slowly in acknowledgement.

"Thanks for the-" Chara was about to say, before Toriel couldn't resist pulling the child into a hug, her gentle breathing ruffling the child's hair and tickling their ear as she whispered the words "be safe".

The purple-jacketed goat monster then opened the large door and watched Chara crossing the threshold, but the child turned back to see her and waved a hand, saying that this wasn't goodbye for them, and that they would return to see her. The human child didn't understand where this kindness came from, but briefly smiled as they knew Wing would be certainly proud - until noticing that there was nothing in front of them.

Nothing except endless void, or so they thought...

 ***The encounter with Toriel left you a little sad.**  
 ***You wished you had more answers...**  
 ***The sight of the endless void fills you with PANIC.**

 _"You couldn't have said it better, Wing."_ the child could muse before being cut off by the same snarky voice that taunted them at the beginning of their adventure, and clenched their fist in anger as they didn't have any other protection than their sheer DETERMINATION. Flowey came into their sight, a threatening glare plastered on his face as he raised a few vines - he wasn't here to hurt them, he was here to leave a message - before speaking in that voice of his.

"Hee hee. So, you managed to keep yourself in control, eh? Whatever you are, human..." the flower chuckled, "Know that /I/ will be watching your /every/ step, and you'll see soon that genocide makes more sense in this world."

The flower then disappeared in the void, laughing madly as the child started walking through the darkness, wondering what could've caused this. Just then, Gaster materialized next to Chara - startling them in the process - and began speaking of the various ideas and theories that he took the liberty to analyze during their long journey through the Ruins.

 **"Before I start, I want to be sure you don't believe an ounce of what the flower told you."** the scientist said with a stern look on his skeletal face.

"No, I don't, damnit. Why would I, when I know what LV really means?" Chara pouted, "And, care to tell me /why/ are we wandering blindly in nothingness?"

 **"Photon readings at the time I performed my experiments were negative."** the scientist stated, matter-of-factly. **"There is a possibility the timeline is going to act on what was previously known, and that is the Genocide Route. The timeline may decide to be ruthless with you, given the fact we were supposed to be in Snowdin Forest, as of now."**

"I always wanted to ask you something, Wing. If LV was deceiving, do you think the other acronyms are like this too?" Chara looked at the tall monster, which seemed to be in deep thought.

 **"Indeed they are, but only a part of them."** he nodded. **"Let's take HP, for example. The possibilities are virtually limitless regarding this one. It could mean Hurting Power, for example."**

"It doesn't make sense...," the child muttered, "the Snowdin Inn offers regeneration above maximum HP."

 **"Let us try another possible meaning: Hoping Power."** Gaster suggested, as they kept walking without any target.

"Why didn't you think of HoPe, while we're at it?" Chara scoffed.

 **"LOVE is short for Level Of ViolencE, I suppose you are right."** the scientist shook his head.

"Okay, what about the rest?" Chara scratched the back of their head, lightly annoyed by the fact nothing happened yet.

 **"The others are not deceiving, except for SAVE and RESET."** Gaster stopped for a moment, as he noticed the child's eyes widened as he uttered this phrase.

"Okay, if /these/ are deceiving, means I've overlooked a lot of things." the child stopped as well.

 **"SAVE means Sustainable Alternate Variable Empowered, a mechanism of the timeline that allows anyone with DETERMINATION to acknowledge it, though actual access is given to the one with the highest DETERMINATION."**

"Wait, so anyone with-" Chara rubbed their forehead in frustration, "means Undyne is aware of the SAVES' existence?"

 **"It is a possibility."** the scientist merely waved one of his skeletal hands. **"RESET, too, is a deceiving acronym."**

"What can it mean, huh?"

 **"Returning Existence Set Effective in Timeline."** Gaster deadpanned.

...

Before they could think more of the scientist's theories, an empty town came to their view, forcing Gaster to return in the child's mind and SOUL, but it wasn't until they came nearer that they noticed how /familiar/ the whole place was.

 _ **"Welcome to Snowdin!**_  
 _ **Population: ...all killed by..."**_


	4. Chapter 3: Murder and Returning Sins

**A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter looks incredibly short.**  
 **But I really had to progress this little thing somehow...**

 **So here it goes.**

 **CHAPTER 3: MURDER AND RETURNING SINS**

 _"No way..."_ Chara mentally gasped, as they took in the surroundings. They didn't want to believe the sight before their eyes — but they knew they had to accept their sins — as the town seemed completely empty, piles of dust were scattered in the distance, along with a foul scent of murder. Gaster was silent as well, taking in the sight through Chara's eyes, and almost wishing he didn't save the child — though he had to admit, the fate of dimensions laid in their hands and Determination — , a thing Chara acknowledged as they broke the silence.

 _"Wing, I know you have all the reasons why you'd want to kill me right now,"_ the child sighed in the cold air as they were holding themselves to get warmer, _"but—_ "

 **"Chara."** the skeleton scientist materialized before them once more, as he stood tall, dressed in his black lab coat, **"My wish is quite petty, seeing as you're the last hope of the dimensions' needed survival. You may have been a Genocidal Entity once, but now? I can see you are moved by the memories that link you to the Dreemurr family."**

"Who do you think the anomaly really is?" Chara asked, as they walked along Gaster through the ghost-town of Snowdin, looking to the left and right as if feeling watched.

 **"I do not know for certain,"** Gaster rubbed his chin, **"I was close to understanding the other dimensions, until** — **"**

"Until you fell in the CORE, and everyone said you were gone," the human child completed. "Uh, do you feel like we're being watched?"

 **"The silence and the rememberance of your sins must've disoriented you, child,"** the skeleton scientist said, **"I remember Sans was in this area, along with Papyrus..."**

Their dialogue was interrupted by an orange Gaster Blaster ray shot out of nowhere, and Chara barely had any time to duck — their hair immediately caught fire, and eventually managed to extinguish it with the cold snow, — leaving them with an empty top of head. Clenching their fist, they called out to Sans, as they knew he must've been around, for the Gaster Blaster was used only by him.

Or so they thought.

 ***Searching through your inventory, you found a red bandana!**  
 ***You can use it to cover your bald spot...**

 _"Y-yeah, thanks Wing,"_ Chara mentally deadpanned as they tied the bandana to their head, and then noticed a tall shadow behind a tree.

"Come on out, you coward! I don't have all time for—"

"WAS'SUP, CHARA." the tall shadow drew nearer, "HAVE YOU COME BACK TO CONFESS YOUR SINS?"

 **"That voice...!"** / _"That voice...!"_ both Gaster and Chara exclaimed as in front of them stood none other than...

"Papyrus...Where's Sans?" the child narrowed their eyes in expectation.

"YOU DON'T REMEMBER, DO YOU? YOU KILLED MY BROTHER...AND IN ORDER TO PREVENT MORE DEATHS CAUSED BY YOU—"

"You decided to kill everyone in Snowdin yourself, didn't you?" Chara lightly chuckled. "You want to gain LOVE just to defeat me in the end...?"

"I MUST ADMIT...AT FIRST IT MADE ME FILLED WITH DREAD. BUT THEN...I STARTED TO LIKE IT." Papyrus's eyes started to glow orange, "BECAUSE THIS WILL MAKE ME STRONG ENOUGH TO END YOU!"

Without any further warning, Papyrus summoned two Gaster Blasters and immediately discharged them, forcing Chara to dodge out of their way, while Gaster looked through the child's eyes with concern. It seemed, to the scientist, that the timeline wished to put Chara through meeting scores of Sans-alikes, as if...

 ***You have to get past him, but do not fight!**  
 ***We cannot risk turning this into a Genocide Route!**  
 ***The sight before you fills you with CONFUSION.**

 _"Wing, I know I can't fight against him, but — just look at his STATS. Unless this is deceiving too."_

 **"No, it's not deceiving at all,"** the scientist replied. **"Very well, let's check his STATS..."**

 ***UnderSwap Papyrus**  
 ***LV 6, HP 1360, ATK 40, DEF 40, ?: ?**  
 ***The LOVE has affected him differently!**

 _"There's another STAT?!"_ Chara noticed in panic. _"Well, this is far too strange..."_

 **"Let's just focus on your survival, child,"** Gaster deadpanned, as the human ducked under another orange ray from Papyrus, who seemed to be somewhat tired and confused by what Chara did before. Though that didn't stop him from still aiming to kill the child before him, as he took another puff from his cigarette, the tobacco scent filling the battlefield as it was carried by the chilly air of Snowdin.

"Check my STATS, you—" the child was about to insult Papyrus, until they realised that would just anger him more. "Do you think I've come here with the thought of doing Genocide? You are the murderer in here!"

"SAYS THE ONE WHO KILLED MORE TIMELINES THAN—" Papyrus huffed, as he shot another Blaster ray, accompanied by a wave of sharp bones that had a spear-like shape.

"Listen up, you fool—" Chara hissed as they dodged the ray, but got grazed by six spear-like bones, their sweatshirt somewhat torn, as well as the red bandana on their head. "—if you think killing me will do anything right, well, you killing everyone of your so-called /mercy/ isn't better than everything I did!"

"YOU HAVE NO MORAL GROUNDS, KIDDO." Papyrus deadpanned as he engulfed the child's SOUL in his signature blue attack. "AT LEAST I'VE DONE IT TO SAVE THEM FROM YOU!"

"Shut—" the striped-shirt child could only say, before being violently thrown into the nearby trees of Snowdin, snow falling from a few fir trees as it covered the unconscious human. Gaster was worried about the child's welfare, as he didn't hesitate to Check their STATS.

 ***ACT**  
 ***CHECK**

 ***CHARA DREEMURR.**  
 ***Adopted child of the Dreemurr family.**  
 ***HP: 1/20, LV 1, ATK:0, DEF: 0**

 ***They will die if I won't do something...**

 **"Chara...! CHARA...You have to stay determined! The dimensions fate is in your hands, you cannot** — **"**

 ***The SOUL gently stirs, hearing your call for help.**  
 ***Used item: Cinammon Bunny.**  
 ***Restored Max HP.**

"N-ngh..." Chara groaned, "W-why am I covered in snow?"

 **"He tossed you in the trees, he's still out there..."** Gaster sighed, **"He is adamant on making you admit your sins, but you already did that. It means the timeline is unaware of your repentance** — **"** the scientist paused, **"or it doesn't want to recognize it."**

"Do you have any idea what that unknown STAT is?" the child tried to bandage all of their existing wounds so far, while still covered in snow.

 **"No,"** the skeleton scientist replied, **"But I believe I can access the dimension's hidden code** — **with some exceptions. We'd probably see the hidden stats, but I'm not sure about the unknown ones. Just, wait a few minutes, and try to not get yourself killed."**

 _"Gee, that feels very, very reassuring."_ Chara huffed in their thoughts, to which Gaster replied with a comical "I've heard that!" and then the child noticed Papyrus seemed to just...

... _slack off, like he usually does. He does take up to Sans in that regard. It's like he didn't even bother to check if I can still attack him or not._

"Uh, hello? Weren't you supposed to annihilate—"

 _ **"GOTCHA."**_

That was the last thing Chara heard as their SOUL broke in two, while Gaster rolled his eyes in exasperation, and then he noticed how Determination started to pulse within the child's SOUL. The human refused to give up so easily like that, and the scientist watched with glee as Chara's red and purple heart reformed under his eyes.

 ***But it refused, huh?**  
 ***Seeing that Papyrus won't be giving up...**  
 ***Fills you with DETERMINATION.**  
 ***File Saved.**  
 ***SAVE 02: UnderSwap Snowdin - Genocide Route.**

 _"The fu_ — _"_ was Chara's only reaction as they read the last words, but Gaster reassured them it wasn't THEIR Genocide Route, but Papyrus's. **"It was the only way I could name this SAVE, no other modifications were allowed. In what concerns HIDDEN STATS...look at this."**

 ***ACT**  
 ***CHECK**

 ***HIDDEN STATS**  
 ***CHARA DREEMURR**

 ***DREEMURR LOYALTY: 100/100**  
 ***INNER MAGIC POOL: 0 (2500)**  
 ***POWERS: LOAD, SAVE, CONTINUE, RESET.**  
 ***Attention: There's a LOAD OVERRIDE present.**

 _"What's that supposed to mean...?"_ Chara thought in their mind, before asking Gaster to give Papyrus a Check for Hidden Stats.

 ***ACT**  
 ***CHECK**

 ***HIDDEN STATS**  
 ***UNDERSWAP PAPYRUS**

 ***Unknown variable: 125/125.**  
 ***MURDER LEVEL: 6**  
 ***POWERS: LOAD.**

 _"Oh, snap, so that was_ — _"_ the child added, and noticed that Papyrus was now puffing harder from his cigarette.

"SO, YOU GOT BACK, EH? WHAT'S GOT YOU SO SURPRISED?"

Chara chuckled a little as they dusted off their clothes, "You think you're the only one with tricks up their sleeve, don't you? Well—"

 **"Chara, no!"** Gaster yelled as he felt the hatred returning within the child's SOUL.

 _ **"You have no idea who you're messing with, Papyrus..."**_


End file.
